It is speculative, according to Paul, to assume that wiretapping a telephone is any more complicated than purchasing a Radio Shack or Spy Store device complete with user instructions for dummies [or] a DIY device.. Paul Roger Moore, 49, is facing life in prison with no chance of parole after his first-degree murder conviction with the special-circumstance allegation that he killed Roberto Ayala, 43, by planting. A jury convicted defendant Paul Roger Moore of first degree murder based exclusively on circumstantial evidence that he built and planted a victim-activated bomb in an irrigation pump he knew the farm foreman and eventual victim, Roberto Ayala, would activate. According to Case Law, Paul Moore regarded the Ayala brothers with animosity and said of Roberto, Those son-of-a-b******, they are trying to take over my life. Target two knows the Mexico connection and that is the reason 4 relocating n will not help target two. Little Fabian ran through the sunflower fields, as far as he could, to get help for his father More Friday at 9/8c with @Dateline_Keith. Paul maintains the prosecutor's comparison to DNA analysis imputed an accuracy to the paper and ink analysis that was not in evidence, and therefore it was error to allow the prosecutor to argue the ink, paper, and labels were matches. We agree with the trial court that the argument was permissible as a mere example or analogy. Paul was well represented at trial, and his lawyer effectively lodged these arguments, and many more, to the jurors. Roger David Hickel passed away on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at the U. C. Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, at the age of 76. While Peter and Paul have very different dispositions, they share similar grievances and similar life trajectories. Click to reveal ] (People v. Robbins (1988) 45 Cal.3d 867, 879; see People v. Kelly (2007) 42 Cal.4th 763, 783.) Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. There is also freehand drawing on the diagram, and there's also straightedge drawing on the diagram. Neither cousin was happy with his place within the family hierarchy. Chance of rain 100%. Peter had difficulty with reading comprehension. Powered by. To understand if, why, and how Paul would have blown up Roberto, the prosecution attempted to tell the painful story of the men of the Moore family farm and their tortured relationships. Paul Moore convicted in Colusa bombing death, Animals in and out of control: Yuba and Sutter counties clarify common animal complaints, I view this as a solution: Habitat proposes 217-unit affordable housing apartment complex in Yuba City, Chili cook-off heats up Yuba City Moose Lodge, Marysville man serving time for attempted murder dies in prison, Plumas Lake man to be sentenced in case of pure evil, Caretaker who stole from the tulip lady gets community service, Marysville woman celebrates 100th birthday, Livestock auction returns to Colusa fairgrounds. and plate number. Since he was seven, when his father was tragically killed, he is 16 years old now. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a2e78bba8bccfb8 During his apprenticeship, Paul worked alongside Roberto. Paul Moore was arrested five months after the explosion after a search warrant was executed at his home by the Colusa County Sherrif's Office assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,. Peter's house was searched a few days after the explosion. Paul's voice was powerful circumstantial evidence the prosecution had every right to exploit. On tonight's episode of Dateline NBC, Keith Morrison interviews family members and investigators in Robert Ayala's murder case. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. February 7, 2023 (78 years old) View obituary. He thought the police were there to search for medical marijuana he was growing. The settlement also included about $44,800 in worker's compensation payments. "We've waited 25 months and. Higher wind gusts possible.. ADVICE: Are North Americans wimps when it comes to pain tolerance? Express your opinion! Low 41F. Colusa, CA. My answer to that is I don't know anyone that could have done that," Roger Moore said after the verdict was announced. He could not retrieve his father's cell phone because his father was on fire. We conclude the risk was very low. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. ROGER HICKEL OBITUARY. Defendant insists there is no substantial evidence that he murdered Roberto Ayala, and the weak circumstantial evidence of his guilt is insufficient to sustain the verdict in the context of the more compelling evidence that his cousin Peter was the perpetrator. On several occasions, he physically threatened to harm, among others, his father, his uncle, and Roberto Ayala. The admission of the evidence was not only fair but essential in assuring the jury understood the depth of how aggrieved Paul felt and that Roberto was a major source of his humiliation and disappointment. According to the Environmental Working Group Farm Subsidy Database, Moore Brothers received about $2.1 million in subsidies from 1995-2014. We are not at liberty to second-guess the trial court's careful and reasoned assessment, and because we find there is no abuse of discretion, there was no error in admitting the evidence. She concluded that all the samples came from the same spool or another spool having the same chemical composition and physical characteristics. ), Wiretapping: In opposition to the defense motion in limine to exclude the evidence of wiretapping, the prosecutor argued: Defendant climbed a telephone pole and attached a wire to the line, running the wire to a recording device. Location and meter number for panel. 107 5th Street, Colusa, CA 95932 Information is scarce, especially since Moore does not seem to have any social media presence. The jury was properly reminded to consider the evidence solely for its tendency to prove Paul's knowledge of electrical and technical devices. His body was still burning when the firefighters arrived. In the explosive expert's opinion, the evidence collected from the scene of the explosion was consistent with the diagram of the bomb, including a bolt with the piece of fishing line, pieces of a sprayed-black plastic bottle, plastic wrap, and washers and bolts that might have been part of the bomb. He acknowledges, as he must, that our task is to review the whole record in the light most favorable to the jury verdict to determine whether it discloses substantial evidenceevidence that is reasonable, credible, and of solid valuesuch that a reasonable trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We have outlined the chronology of the investigation and how it produced evidence that Paul was quick to alert the investigators to evidence suggesting that Peter bore Roberto ill will, that Peter had threatened Roberto, that Peter had been at the scene of the explosion the day before it happened, and that it was an explosion, not an accident. A forensic document examiner compared the sheet of paper with the indentations that had been seized from Paul's residence to the diagram of the bomb mailed to the Colusa County Sheriff's Department. Paul's trial was not fundamentally unfair, and he was not deprived of his constitutional right to due process. Express your opinion! Farm accidents are as old as the wheel, but was this an accident? Rogers exact whereabouts as of 2020 remain unknown. (People v. Vereneseneckockockhoff (1900) 129 Cal. In describing his life, he pondered what he had done to be treated so poorly by his own family. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. According to the Colusa County Sun Herald, Paul Moores sentencing and conviction was upheld in 2016. The family of a Colusa County man killed in a 2011 bombing obtained a $20 million judgment against his killer, an attorney said last Wednesday. Chance of rain 100%. opened the power panel for a water pump on a rice field south of Colusa on July 16, 2011. As an adult, he became a football coach but was fired for his aggressiveness toward a student. Nor was there a terrible danger of unnecessarily inciting the jurors' passions. They gave me two months 4 this job. We concur: Paul then drove to the farm shop. Thus, he was suggesting by analogy that the document examiner could not say the papers were a positive match. The trial court rejected the defense claim that the prosecutor improperly had compared paper stock analysis to DNA analysis when there was no DNA analysis in evidence. They found threaded pipe nipple, end caps in the form of reducers and plugs, other end caps, washers, nuts, multicolored wire, and seven-inch bolts. At trial there was no evidence Paul climbed a telephone pole to attach a wire to the line or any other evidence as to how Paul actually wiretapped the telephone. They seized this sheet but not the sheets of paper below it. The bomb also contained a plastic container filled with gasoline to ignite during the explosion and enhance the thermal effect. ARLAN MOORE OBITUARY . My house and property are protected, larger devices. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. There were no eyewitnesses, no confessions, no admissions, and no fingerprints or DNA evidence found on any of the parts of the explosive device found at the scene of the murder. The forensic testimony provided the most compelling evidence against Paul. I am military trained. Roberto's seven-year-old son told the investigators and testified at the preliminary hearing that he did not move or drive the truck after the bomb exploded. Paul Moore was convicted of killing Roberto Ayala, an employee of Moore Brothers. In his view, the admission of such prejudicial evidence rendered the state proceedings fundamentally unfair and violated his right to a fair trial under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. In fact, the incarcerated mans full name is Paul Roger Moore, as a sign of respect to his father. Motive is one of the elements the defense argued most vehemently. Gingery said the $20 million judgment cannot be discharged in Bankruptcy Court and can be periodically renewed. That evidence, Paul argued, pointed to Peter's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We will review that evidence in two steps: first, we will outline the evidence of solid, credible value the jury could have reasonably relied upon in finding Paul guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Do I think Peter (Paul's cousin) did this? The vehicle, a 2006 Ford F-250, will be sold, he said. To the contrary, the prosecutor did nothing more than marshal validly admitted evidence to counter defense argument: that is, the prosecutor referred to wiretapping evidence to demonstrate that Paul had superior technical skills to Peter and to his My Life entries to demonstrate he had a motive to kill Roberto, based on a lifetime of indignities and slights he felt on the farm. He is also survived by his brother, Roger Moore. Installing a device inside such a panel is a highly dangerous activity. Paul therefore argued that he had no motive to kill Roberto, whereas Peter did. Eight fingerprints and the left palm print lifted from the indented sheet of paper matched Paul's. Peter testified that two months before the explosion, his father told Roberto that if Peter came on the farm, Roberto should have him arrested for trespassing. We are not at liberty to reweigh evidence or revisit credibility issues. The investigators took possession of three computers and three cellular telephones. An explosive enforcement officer testified that booby trap devices are victim-operated. He explained that just above the pipe bomb was a mouse-trap assembly that was used as a trigger. Paul was afforded a fair trial. The straightedge drawing is -- the diagram depicts -- what we're led to believe is that the diagram depicts the electrical box. But Paul insists the prosecutor's rebuttal constituted error, even if we assume it was not intentional. Moore is the owner of the Moore Brothers Farm. This envelope had a postmark from Colusa. We agree. This information was not disclosed to the public. McNary-Moore Funeral Service in Colusa, CA. However, we have been able to discern that he is currently at Colusa, and is a pillar of the community. I received another package via USPS, target two, I will not take this job because the info I received is wrong. In the first message, Peter told Roger that the real reason Roberto's son was fired by another employer was that he was caught stealing and forging his time card, the same thing the Ayala boys had been doing to Roger for years. And it is particularly challenging because, as Paul argues on appeal, there are no witnesses, no fingerprints on any of the bomb parts, no DNA, no confessions, and no admissions. Poyner said that after the verdict was announced, he called Peter Moore. The wiretapping occurred in 1995 or 1996. Moore was cuffed and booked at the Colusa County Jail at the age of 47. We cannot say the trial court's denial of defense counsel's request for surrebuttal constituted an abuse of discretion under these circumstances, and we also cannot say that additional argument on the same themes already argued would have changed the jurors' finding that Paul was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. She sued Moore Brothers farm and three Moores - brothers Arlan and Roger and Roger's son Paul - in Colusa County Court. Whatever they uncovered at his house, tied him to the evidence collected from the crime scene. ), Admission of character evidence, however, is subject to special rules. He claimed Roberto was a good person but admitted he became upset when he saw Roberto drinking and driving on the farm. Most of the indented impressions found on the sheet of paper matched the lines in the bomb diagram. Whoever is driving that white F-250 is in great danger. On appeal, Paul challenges the court's denial of her request. A state appeals court this week upheld Paul Moore's murder conviction. He denied saying he would fire the Ayala brothers if he ever took over the farm and insisted he liked Roberto. According to Gingery, the Moores receive millions in agricultural subsidies annually. We find no merit in Paul's objection to the admissibility of his own life story. We disagree. The jurors had the opportunity to observe Paul throughout the trial and to assess Peter's credibility throughout his lengthy direct and cross-examinations. Thus, the court disagreed with Paul's threshold argument at trial that the prosecutor's rebuttal was improper because it exceeded the scope of the defense closing argument. The focus again, therefore, is not on just how probative the evidence was, but rather on how grave the risk of prejudice admission of the old incident presented. If the verdict is supported by substantial evidence, we must defer to the trier of fact; yet a verdict cannot be sustained based on suspicion alone, or on imagination, speculation, supposition, surmise, conjecture, or guess work.' Prosecution experts did not find any evidence of value on Peter's devices. He thought he was safe in the States. "The bells of justice have finally rung for us," Ayala said. Having reviewed the evidence offered by the prosecution, we now turn to the evidence presented by the defense that Peter, not Paul, planted the bomb that killed Roberto Ayala, for he too appeared to disdain the man, he too had the opportunity and familiarity with the irrigation pump, he too had access to the area in which the bomb was planted, and he too had incriminating evidence on his computer hard drive. Peter tried to convince his grandmother Mimi to disinherit his father, confident that his Uncle Roger would be more fair. THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. PAUL ROGER MOORE, Defendant and Appellant. God [sic] luck. On July 16, 2011, Roberto Ayala and his son were on the Moore brothers rice fields, and Ayala was adjusting an irrigation pump when he son heard a loud explosion and then saw his father on fire, according to the original court case. We accept for purposes of this issue the trial court's characterization of the defense closing argument. A Colusa County judge approved the judgment last month in the wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2013 by Jesus, Maria and Paola Ayala against Moore Brothers, Arlan Moore, Paul Moore and Roger Moore. Peter testified he was going to physically beat up Roberto. (People v. Johnson (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 410, 417-419. During the civil lawsuit, it came to light that the Moore brothers receive millions in government agricultural subsidies. A month before the explosion, Roger learned from Paul that Peter threatened to injure Roberto. The letter read: I am responsible for the panel explosion. Paul was free to argue that the document itself proved he had no intention of harming Roberto because, even in his most private moments, he did not threaten him. Moreover, he was aware of the 19 years Roberto had dedicated to the Moore brothers' farm and had watched at a distance as Roberto ascended to the position he coveted. There were talks of Moore being reappointed to supervise the Sacramento River Fire Protection District, from November 16, 2019, to November 15, 2023. Rain. And this would be, in my explanation, it takes a little bit of time, but this is near instantaneously. Most damning, they found a sheet of paper with indentations that appeared to match the diagram of the bomb sent to the sheriff. In December 2016, a Colusa County judge approved a wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2013 by Ayalas family against Moore Brothers, Arlan Moore, Paul Moore and Roger Moore. Second, Paul claims the substance of the rebuttal argument constitutes prosecutorial misconduct. I have nothing to say to that man, other than bye-bye.". Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. The investigators did not believe that a Mexican gang was involved in the explosion because gangs typically advertise their involvement rather than hide it, to incite fear and command respect. David Moore's birthday is 01/17/1944 and is 78 years old. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Paul's ex-father-in-law testified briefly, and the description he gave certainly did not consume an undue amount of trial time. He has endangered others in his family. He felt mistreated by everyone, including Peter. The court summarized what it perceived was a two-part argument: first, that Paul had no part in the killing and had no motive to kill Roberto because everything was rosy for him at the farm and he had worked his way into a happy partnership with his father; but second, his cousin Peter, who was bitter and estranged from the farm he loved, was a plausible bomb builder because he was capable of constructing the simple explosive device in question, particularly with the assistance of the YouTube video found on his computer. A jury convicted defendant Paul Roger Moore of first degree murder based exclusively on circumstantial evidence that he built and planted a victim-activated bomb in an irrigation pump he knew the farm foreman and eventual victim, Roberto Ayala, would activate. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. A defendant's writings have been admitted to prove motive over defense objection. "My sister-in-law is friends with the family," he said. Paul told the investigators that Peter had been around the explosion site one day before the explosion. Roberto's death occurred against the backdrop of great family disharmony and dissension between the two principals in this deadly drama, Peter and Paul, cousins whose fathers were the sons of Richard and Mimi Moore, owners of an 1,800-acre farm near Colusa. Roberto Ayala died instantly from an explosive device that he unknowingly detonated at chest level. During trial, however, the defense offered the testimony of an expert in forensic computer analysis. There was no direct evidence of who designed, constructed, or placed the explosive device. Paul was eventually arrested for the murder of Roberto Ayala. Like the first letter, the text of the second was made with a label maker and photocopied. "I feel like I've lost two sons in one time," Roger Moore said. . In fact, after Roberto injured his shoulder, Paul accompanied him on occasion to the irrigation pumps to adjust water levels. Are you concerned about the rising tensions with North Korea? His son, Fabian, who was 7 at the time, witnessed the explosion and ran two miles through fields to find help. C075231. Once it gets free enough to the point, and that won't take a whole lot, that washer drops or is free, and then that bolt drops, pulls the line through the first nut on the top, pulls the nut or the line through the bottom nut over here, the second one, which yanks on this little trigger right there releasing the bale. provides funeral home, burial, veteran,. Peter texted, When [Roberto's] wing is better, he's all mine. Peter testified that when he wrote the message he was planning to beat up Roberto. Roberto was Peter's nemesis, and it was Peter, not Paul, who stood to gain the most once he was removed. He pointed out that the markings or threading on the metal indicated to him the explosion was not an accident. He took on additional responsibilities as his back healed, and by July 2011 Roger had decided to bring on Paul as a 50 percent partner of his half of the farm operation. Peter testified he was not a trained welder, he was not talented when it came to anything mechanical, and the only electrical work he performed was the simple wiring of electrical sprinkler systems. Higher wind gusts possible.. He was responsible for regulating the water levels on the rice fields. (Evid. He ran for about two miles to get help. But 12 jurors of Pauls peers found that the circumstantial evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he murdered Roberto Ayala, and we must respect their verdict., The appeals court also said that Paul complained bitterly about his life growing up on the farm and felt mistreated by everyone., The Sun Herald article states that the appeals court said the murder case was a classic whodunit. Defense counsel argued the document should have been excluded because it was written at least 18 months before Roberto was killed and many of the events Paul described had occurred in his early childhood. "Paul was afforded a fair. Nevertheless, there was probative value in establishing Paul's lifelong familiarity and experimentation with all types of electrical and mechanical devices. We turn to counsel's arguments, the objections that were lodged, and the trial court's rationale in denying the defense request to make a surrebuttal argument and denying its later motion for a new trial. Having heard how Roberto Ayala had been burned and blown up, the evidence of a simple wiretap would not have so outraged or incited the jurors as to put them at risk of wrongfully convicting Paul because of this prior act. The settlement awarded the family $20 million as well as $44,800 in workers compensation payment. He also threatened his Uncle Roger, despite the fact he believed Roger would be more fair to him than his father. The actual printing on the diagram looks like somebody printed it on a label maker, affixed it to the paper and then ran it through a photocopier. Records published here were acquired from Colusa . The next day, the investigators at the Colusa County Sheriff's Department received a letter with a postmark from Sacramento that they learned was processed by the postal service in West Sacramento. They had a warrant and wanted to find more evidence that would tie Moore to Ayala's murder. Gene attended Colusa High School and . From this evidence, the jury could reasonably infer that Paul had both the aptitude and unique skill set needed to build the type of explosive device that killed Roberto Ayala. Half of the amount will go to. The first responders believed Roberto's truck had been moved because the broken glass was located about 11 feet away and a piece of glass was in the rear tire tread. Offer condolences/tributes, send flowers or create an online memorial for free. Gunner believed his dad could repair just about anything and could make something out of nothing. One of Paul's favorite hobbies, according to Gunner, was assembling and flying radio-controlled airplanes. All of these considerations could factor into the trial court's delicate weighing process. The police officers confiscated a laptop computer, a combined printer-copier, a partial roll of stamps similar to those used on the second letter sent to the sheriff, an unopened label maker, file folders that had been marked with labels created with a label maker, and manila envelopes similar to the one used for the first letter. "(The murder) is really the unfortunate product that came out, in spite of Roger's well-meaning efforts to do well by his family and do well by the company," Druliner said. Paul objects to the prosecutor's use of a DNA analogy. At trial he explained he had difficulty understanding the documents he was asked to review, but that he could understand an oral description of their contents. At the same time, their sons, Peter and Paul, respectively, hated Ayala. There is no question, however, that the evidence was remote in time. Thus the victim, according to the explosive expert, would be injured simultaneously by the explosion and the fire. As they were driving, they noticed Paul's truck behind them. C075231 (Super. This vehicle info is the same as the first job. Trig one, vibration activated. We agree with the trial court that the document was therefore relevant to prove motive. And, of course, he was ostracized from the farm and estranged from his father. From 1995-2014, they received grants worth $2.1 million. Again, Paul's critique is the same: that is, the prosecutor grossly exaggerated his fascination with bomb making and extrapolated one incident into a proclivity to create multiple and more advanced explosive devices. CR53504) I received info and instructions via USPS. Defense counsel, anticipating the very strategy the prosecutors ultimately used, complained to the trial court that the first prosecutor offered only a short opening argument, whereas the second prosecutor had argued for over two hours when she once again objected to the sandbagging. All rights reserved. Beyond those innocuous hobbies, he wiretapped a telephone and blew up a bomb. One of the investigators described the diagram of the bomb as follows: It's a diagram that has writing around the diagram and on the diagram. 107 5th St, Colusa, CA. The money is good. Given the brevity of the comment, we believe Paul grossly overstates its potential danger and conclude there was no prosecutorial error. Dr. Svetlana Moore is a Family Medicine Doctor in Colusa, CA. Fill out this form to submit a Letter to the Editor. On October 3 investigators also found spikes down a private farm road. The letter stated: Ayala was actually warned what would happen if he screwed with these people. Whether a trial court has erred in admitting evidence under Evidence Code section 1101 is also reviewed for an abuse of discretion. The evidence demonstrates that Paul had, on at least one occasion, experimented with explosive substances. The investigators placed a GPS (global positioning system) device on his truck, devices that often malfunction. The bolts were just like the bolt discovered at the scene of the explosion. It is true that the prosecution did not elicit testimony from the ex-father-in-law or from anyone else about what electrical knowledge was necessary to wiretap a telephone. Why am I helping u? Paul's son Gunner testified that when Paul was young, he rewired the light switch in his bedroom so he could turn off the light from his bed, but if a person did not flip the switch in a particular way, he or she would be shocked. She also testified the labels on the envelopes sent to the sheriff were consistent with those on Paul's file folders, with the same type of polyester backing and the same type of acrylic-based adhesive. And because the explosion would be instantaneous, the victim would still be in contact with the electrical panel and would be electrocuted. An individual would need prior knowledge of electric devices and electrical systems in order to properly and safely install the device. The bomb is set off.. If u have any questions, place ad in Sac Bee, help wanted, make it the last ad [in the] August 21st issue. Defendant does not quarrel with the limited scope of appellate review of an insufficiency claim. In 2013, Paul Moore, 53, was convicted of killing Ayala (first-degree murder on circumstantial evidence). ADVICE: Are North Americans wimps when it comes to pain tolerance? Paul returned to work on the farm a few years before the explosion. Please try again. According to the Colusa County Sun Herald, Susan Susie Caseys Murder: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. NICHOLSON, J. Moore was convicted of killing Roberto Ayala. But that is not to say a wiretap does not have sufficient probative value to merit admission, and given the minimal risk of potential prejudice, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting evidence that did offer some probative value into the extent of Paul's knowledge about building and connecting electrical and mechanical devices.